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Family of 18-Year-Old Domonique Smith Who Died in Pool at Home of Megachurch Pastor Steve Munsey Sues Church Over Suspicious Death

Domonique Smith and Pastor Steve Munsey

The family of an 18-year-old woman who drowned in a swimming pool at her pastor’s home where she had been babysitting is suing the pastor and his northwest Indiana megachurch.

Domonique Smith’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit Thursday.

Her mother, Vicki Walker, says Domonique was a CPR certified lifeguard and questions how her daughter drowned.

“I need to know what actually happened to my child,” she told NBC 5.

Walker says the Munseys showed her video of her daughter in the pool, but claims there is a 15 minute gap in the footage.

The suit was filed in Lake County Indiana civil court and accuses negligence. It names the Family Christian Center in Munster and pastors Steve and Melodye Munsey.

“Someone was negligent,” says Max Solomon, Walker’s attorney. “Especially since Melodie Munsey was responsible for her during those hours.”

Smith died June 1, 2015, a few days after being found in the pool in Schererville. She had been babysitting Steve Munsey’s 6-year-old granddaughter.

A coroner ruled her death an accident, but Smith had no water in her lungs. Family says there was no autopsy because her organs were donated to cancer research.

The Munsey family did not respond to NBC 5’s request for comment.

The Northwest Indiana Times reports that an attorney for the Munseys hadn’t seen the lawsuit and declined to comment.

SOURCE: NBC 5 Chicago

The suspicious death of an Indiana teenager is now part of a lawsuit. The family of Domonique “Nikki” Smith is suing a megachurch and its pastors for her death.

“We need the closure. I need to know my baby’s life was not taken in vain,” said Vicki Walker, her mother.

The 18-year-old died on June 1, 2015, after she was found floating face down in a pool at her church pastor’s home. She’d been babysitting his 6-year-old granddaughter.

On Thursday, the teen’s parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Family Christian Center and its pastors Steve and Melodye Munsey.

“The more we looked into it, the more we asked questions, the more questions we had,” said Max Solomon, the family’s attorney.

The suit filed in Lake County Indiana civil court accuses the ministers of the Munster megachurch of negligence. Smith never regained consciousness after she was discovered unresponsive in the Munsey’s swimming pool on May 29, 2015.

Melodye Munsey and another woman were at the house when everything happened.

“Instead of attending to her immediately, she made a judgment call and said, her soul has left her body, there’s no sense of urgency,” said Trent McCain, family attorney.

The Lake County coroner ruled Smith’s death an accidental drowning although no water was present in her lungs. Toxicology test came back negative for drugs or alcohol. There was no autopsy done because Smith’s organs were donated.

“It is so, so hard because she was my little angel. We did everything together,” said Donald Jackie Olds, Smith’s grandfather.

The family said they decided to take legal action after looking at security video, which Schererville police got from the Munsey home. They say it doesn’t show everything and question an alleged 15-minute gap in the footage.

“There were a lot of things that looked very suspicious,” Walker said.

No one from the church would comment on the lawsuit. An attorney for the Munseys said he hadn’t seen the lawsuit and would not comment.